Comments for Joe the Plumber meets Cedric the Entertainer

Joe the Plumber meets Cedric the Entertainer

2008-10-23T20:04:43Z

They could have gotten more out of this, but it's funny.

Comment from Asher on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T20:49:14Z

Deleted. You can't hijack like that dude. You do that all the time. No disrespect, if you want to talk about something send me e-mail and suggest a topic, or get a blog.

Comment from laborlibert on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T21:05:35Z

I guess Larry the Cable Guy couldn't make it because he was masturbating furiously to last night's Brian Williams interview.

On the other hand, Colbert could have worked a joke in about him.

Comment from frankie d on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T21:10:55Z

i thought the colbert skit was pretty funny.
but, then, he cracks me up. his show is on my dvr's schedule for recording, every night.
he's the funniest white guy around.
as a side note, while i'm not that surprised with the first comment on this thread, it is still interesting to see someone's inner klansman revealed.

Comment from Joel on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T21:33:36Z

Asher -

Just curious, what language has Obama used in his rallies and advertisements that should encourage thugs to mug people at an ATM?

Just wondering, you know?

Comment from Neville on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T21:55:31Z

I hate to be a jerk, but Drudge just posted that girls face Asher. It looks self inflicted, I'm just sayin'. Why did she not want medical treatment? Just conspiracy theorizing.

Obama would not condone this behavior Asher, yet when has Palin denounced the cop before the rally or the people in her audience yelling such terrible things. McCain has, where is she at?

Comment from Nathan on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T22:02:59Z

Deleted. Come on guys. If you want me to see something e-mail it please. I answer my mail.

Comment from Doctor Jay on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T22:13:58Z

"I hate to be a jerk, but ..."

Then don't. (TOO LATE!) You've managed to be an even bigger jerk than Asher. Well done.

And Asher, would you say that the Inquisition invalidates Christianity? I wouldn't.

Would you say that the violent acts of John Brown invalidate the abolitionist position? I'm really not a fan of John Brown, far less than TNC, but I support his avowed ideals.

Whoever did that to her is a criminal, plain and simple. I hope he is caught and faces justice.

Comment from Asher on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T22:30:53Z

"get a blog."

Already got one. But since I feel that the blogosphere, and the world at large, doesn't need to be inundated with more uninformed* political commentary, I don't blog on politics. Anyway, I agree that Obama is in no way responsible here, but it is mildly ironic. As for the skit, it's funny, though I agree it could be a lot better. This is the very reason why any bright strategist would've shot down this Joe the Plumber nonsense. It's way too easily parodied. Or rather, it is a parody. As a Republican, I fear that McCain's loss will be chalked up to silly ineptitudes like these instead of the crappiness of the policy package McCain was pushing, and we'll fail to absorb the lessons of this defeat.

*Uninformed, no offense, being defined as anyone who doesn't have or never had a political career, a career in political journalism, or at least a degree in political science/economics/public policy/law. Otherwise, it's hard to know enough about voter behavior and policy to say anything worthwhile. Of course, there are exceptions - take Yglesias.

Comment from Neville on 2008-10-23

2008-10-23T22:36:02Z

Sarcasm Doc Jay, sarcasm.

Comment from OGWiseman on 2008-10-23

2008-10-24T02:01:49Z

It's not Colbert's funniest sketch by a long shot, but I think that's actually because the underlying point is so strong. Joe the Plumber isn't real, he's a totem. The Ojibwe Indians would venerate a spirit animal, and focus their energy through some symbol. In ancient cultures the symbol was physical, like a pelt or a skull, but now the symbol has transcended the physical with the help of mass media. Joe the Plumber is a totem that allows the GOP ticket to make broad generalizations about the will of the middle class, and to do it from an unassailable position. See, it's difficult to make statements about "The Middle Class", because people don't like being categorized. But Joe the Plumber isn't just a regular totem, he's an idealized version of what poor white people in this country would like to be. Just as Sarah Palin is an idealized and non-threatening version of the empowered female, Joe the Plumber, or at least the story they're selling, is the idealized myth of the regular guy made good. People WANT to identify with that guy, although he is a rare creature indeed. It's the oldest narrative trick in the book. So McCain gets to put whatever words he wants in the mouth of Joe the Plumber, and any attempt to refute those words can be cast as an attack on Joe and, hence, the middle class as a whole. The exact thing from which Joe the Plumber saves the McCain campaign from is what it allows them to impose on Obama: Contempt for and Condescension to the middle class per se.

I was viscerally reminded of this symbolic doublespeak listening to a Sarah Palin inverview. First question was "Is Barack Obama a socialist?" Palin answered (paraphrase) 'I'm not going to call him a socialist, but Joe the Plumber said Obama's plan sounded like socialism to him!'

But you see, Sarah, you can't do that. It's the most despicable and transparent form of passing the buck. You set someone (In this case the mythical Joe) to represent a group larger and more diverse than one person could possibly represent, and then you put fighting words in that person's mouth. I can see why it's an attractive option, and frankly I blame the media more than the McCain campaign. Joe the Plumber might be a sham, but it's the best thing that's happened to the campaign this month. I blame the media for failing to force the candidates to own their words, and allowing them to make backhanded charges through the mouths of non-existent, idealized people.

Comment from Tony Comstock on 2008-10-24

2008-10-24T15:55:00Z

Richard Scary rules! I always liked Able Baker Charlie best!